Pros: This course is one of the more eccentric I've seen. It hearkens me back to holes from Brackets bluff in Davidson, NC. I knew the course would be fun the moment I walked up to the first tee. "Wait, the hole is way down there?...sweet!"

"Way down there" or "way up there" I found myself thinking the whole round. This course has some of, if not THE, most elevation change I've ever played. I felt like I needed a hiking stick in several spots, which could be a pro or a con, depending on how you look at it. Be careful out there because you could slip. Some rubber cleats would be an asset to have while playing here.

I mentioned eccentricities but never expanded, allow me to do so. I'll start by mentioning the basket colors. They have a bright orange color scheme. Many courses don't steer from the traditional yellow DISCatchers or similar. The orange baskets are easy to see and fit in well in the atmosphere of the course. One hole is perched atop 3 tractor tires, one is hanging from an artificial tree branch and a third is behind a bamboo wall (someone has been to Winthrop). My favorite hole, however, was hole 7. It looks like you're standing in the middle of a creek and shooting straight up the middle. The basket is actually in the creek. That hole is something I'll remember for a long time, more so than the somewhat gimmicky basket tricks.

The amenities were great on this course. Every hole had benches (that I remember) and usually a well constructed tee pad with retainer walls.

There are lots of ace opportunities out here, which would be one of the things keeping me coming back. I have no doubt nearly every hole out there has been aced at some point.

Cons: Most of the holes are extremely short but allow the elevation changes to create the distance. I found myself playing the majority of the holes with a putter. For what it's worth, that doesn't make a course excellent in my book.

I mentioned gimmicky baskets in the pros. I think some of the basket placements were unnecessary and take a little away from the experience. Not that they aren't cool, it just felt too intentional. If it were me, I'd get rid of the bamboo wall, and choose either the hanging basket or the tire basket and get rid of the other.

Hole 20 was actually pretty cool and probably the other hole I'll remember from the course, but it was brought down by hole 19. Hole 19 felt like a connector hole, not really having it's own character but merely serving the purpose of getting you to hole 20. And in the case of 19, if the parking lot is in use it is unplayable. Hole 5 also felt like a connector hole, utilizing the road that is cut out near the river as the fairway. One of the only flat holes on the course and it felt out of place.

Sometimes the elevation changes lead to blind shots/ non-golf shots/ lost discs. Playing for the first time by myself, I found myself wincing at the thought of throwing some of the holes, not knowing where my disc will end up. Hole 4 is unplayable in my opinion. First, you can't see the pin from the tee box, in fact you have to walk all the way to the stairs at the bottom before seeing it, then walk back up the steep hill to "throw" the shot. Really you're just dropping the disc off the cliff and hoping you don't hit anyone on hole 5.

Navigation wasn't a huge issue in terms of finding the next basket, but there were spots where you have to cross over fairways to get to the next hole, and I always consider that a flaw.

Be prepared to walk the course twice if this is your first time playing. Many of the holes are blind shots and you'll need to walk the hole to find the basket. Slightly takes away from the experience. For the locals, this wouldn't matter at all.

There are ample opportunities to lose a disc, in fact I lost one myself on hole 1. The mountain swallowed it whole it seems and trying to hike around on the steep slope to find it was difficult.

There is only 2 holes I would consider "open". Out of 20, that is far too few to consider this a well rounded course, thus the lower rating.(remember guys, I'm judging this against every other course I've played). There was plenty of every shot type other than that, but nearly 0 holes that required a driver. As I stated, I used my putter on what seemed like 80% of holes.

Other Thoughts: Don't let my cons get you down. I have to judge every course I play with any other course in the nation. This course is certainly fun and unique, but doesn't offer many of the things I look for in a world class course. That doesn't mean you shouldn't play it, you should indeed! It's certainly a fun time and has holes you'll remember for a long time, but if you're looking for a course to challenge every aspect of your game, this one isn't it. Tight and precise putter shots, rinse wash and repeat with a little bit of spice added in the form of basket placements. I hope the locals understand I'm not trying to tear the course apart, it was very fun and I'll be back!

Pros: Short and sweet, constant elevation change, mostly wooded, and often water in play. There are 20 holes at Highland Hills DGC in North Wilkesboro, NC. All par 3, and all of them are fun. Short average hole length. You can get a good feel for the course on the first hole. Steep downhill and through thick trees. I birdied 2 and 10, and wound up 4 over par. Hole 7 is a great one, uphill with the pin in a great location. 13 is a very unusual inverted pole on the basket, that drops from a tree. The pin for 20 is surrounded by OB, and in an odd position. I was rushing to finish the course before dark, and have to thank Dan for showing me the first 10 holes or so. I did think the entire course was fun, and mixed up the looks from hole to hole nicely. Several tees on each hole, and very cool, easy to spot, bright orange Kingpin baskets with snazzy fluorescent yellow poles.

Cons: The tees could be improved, but function as is. I had no course map, and the tight layout can make navigation tricky.

Other Thoughts: Highland Hills DGC definitely has plenty of hills, and is a very fun course. Will have some tough shots, and a lot of chances to birdie, if you can avoid the trees and hit the lines. The two extra holes are a nice bonus. I thought this was an excellent course, based more on fun layout than difficulty.

Pros: A wonderous place tucked into a city park with an incredible amount of elevation, and a bunch of killer holes. Probably the most aesthetically pleasing course I've seen to date. In addition to the river that bounds the course and borders the fifth fairway, there are multiple streams, a waterfall and steep climbs that make you want to take out your camera.
The first wow moment is the far tee on 1. From the parking lot it turns left and fades down a ravine. A long way down. Looks great, plays great. Sets the tone for a course that meshes aesthetics with quality holes throughout. The longest climb leads to 3, which plays along a side slope with severe drop off potential to the right along length of the hole. The basket is awesomely placed, like many here, up above the majority of the fairway, so while the tee shot is an attempt to place a disc flat on the fairway, the approach will be uphill.
6 is a really fun one. Drive down a flat valley, with steep inclines on three sides and then putt straight up one of those hills. That leads to a series of holes with smaller but quicker ups and downs, many of which play along a stream. They are short but fun with varied lines and great pin placements. The best of which throws directly up a bubbling waterfall. The water finds different paths down the slope so there is some luck involved in landing zones. But it is throwing up a waterfall.
It's tough to imagine a course that throws upwards as much as this one does. The baskets are just so well placed to make approaching them always a unique challenge. The final hole does the course justice. The basket is ten-feet high and on a slope very encouraging of roll-aways. To get there one has to throw over a large ravine. So deep and wide that it makes more sense to walk back to the parking lot and approach the basket from there then walk down into the ravine.
Lastly, there are three sets of tees. The Blues don't always provide too much additional difficulty but I'm so glad that the red tees provide a significantly easier experience. This is the type of course that everyone should be able to see and play. The reds don't take away from the strenuous hike but it eliminates most of the risky or difficult throws. I can easily see taking a friend or family member who isn't serious about discing here and letting them play for the reds. The whole course is so visually stimulating that I want everyone to be able to play. Really, I don't have the words to describe how many times you will be wowed by a view here.

Cons: Sometimes seems a little gimmicky. 4 is essentially dropping a disc off a cliff and not a real golf shot. 5 features to the river on the left but it's just tossing it down a dirt road. The great wall of bamboo seems unneeded and ruins a little of the natural feel. I know it is just there to get to 20, which is really cool but 19 is ruined if people are parked in some sections of the parking lot, the first half of the fairway is the very lot that disc golfers will be parking in.
The course leans a little heavy on the very short holes. For a course with so much going on right, there are a lot of holes under 200.
Tee surfaces are inconsistent. Some of them are not as flat as I would like, and while that is fine on the shorter holes, there are definitely great holes here that makes you want great tees.
Navigation could use some work. Especially between 13 and 14. If you remember one thing before you go, after 13, walk left down the path into the meadow that looks like there is now way it would be right. The course could benefit from an arrow there and a widening of that path.

Three sets of tees. The blues are tight and have some harder angles to hit, especially with the elevation changes. The whites have some tough holes but it's mostly easy lines to hit without much danger. I didn't look at the shorts all that much.

Solid mixture in shot types and allows you to be creative with lines. The course has some interesting lines to hit from the blues.

Mixes up more challenging gap hitting holes with wider fairway holes where placement is the key due to elevation/OB.

The course utilizes a creek, logs/rope and the road as OB. It gives parts of the course more teeth where needed and was used well in design and to keep some cramped fairway areas apart.

A couple open holes come in to play at the end over valleys which provides a nice change of pace.

The elevation here doesn't involve any huge up and downs it's more short and undulating. However it does get very steep over short distances and makes you think about your placement and how the disc is landing on greens.

I like how the course mixes in some faster greens with ones that are more plateaued. It gives it a nice mix so you're not constantly worried about rollaways.

The course flows nicely and is easy to follow. Blends the ups, downs and flats in a nice way to keep it interesting.

The signature hole is the #7 waterfall hole. It's very picturesque and is designed nicely.

Equipment - Super bright baskets which I liked because some of the lines are blind. Great hole signage and directional signage. Benches on the holes which were necessary. There's a shelter/bathroom at the parking lot.

Atmosphere - Beautiful little area that gives you a nice secluded feeling on most of the course. Wooded hills with a waterfall.. what could be better in terms of the environment?Course looked well played but not crowded.

Cons: Layout - The main complaint I have here is that there is a stretch on the back 9 that is boring and has that pitch and putt feeling. It's like they had some really strong holes then crammed a bunch in. IMO they should cut go back to 18 and lengthen a few.

There are parts that give you this gimmicky feeling because some of the holes seem jazzed up.

The course needs limbing and has some unclear flight lines. I understand how tough it can be to upkeep a course like this but some of the big downhill holes are almost throw and prays because you can't really see where they're going. There's also lost disc potential due to that and some more overgrown parts.

Equipment - Gravel/Dirt pads. They weren't in bad shape and worked for the most part but not my preferred pad.

Atmosphere - If you're not used to steeper hills be warned it can be a bit slippery in a few parts especially if it's a bit wet. It's not a hard walk but not a cakewalk either.

Other Thoughts: I think it's a pretty fun little course but I think the layout isn't as strong as it could of been. It's a pitch n' putt with quick elevation changes and some jazzed up lines and features mixed in that add to the course but not enough to get the high praise others have given it.

I highly recommend playing it at least once to see for yourself, I did enjoy my round and think it's a good but not great course. If not for the golf but to see this beautiful little park.

Pros: Was driving to tennesse and stopped at the smokehouse for lunch (which is totally worth the stop as well) and saw this course was only a mile away. Had to convince my lady friend that we should go but very glad I did. Its a very fun and interesting course though I only got to play 10 holes. Hoping to stop on way back and play other 10.

Overall pros
- great usage of elevation
- interesting hole designs
- 3 pads for different types of challenges
- Great usage of available water.

Cons: Not a lot of cons. Signage for OBs would be nice, I didn't notice there was a river behind the first basket and might have lost my disc if I had put anymore on the throw. There was a road on hole 10 that is probably OB but I didn't know it was there so called it a birdie anyways.

Other Thoughts: Would play again, but its steep, might be tough right after a hard rain. You will get a workout climbing up and down the hills.

Pros: - Several signature holes.
- Very good use of elevation throughout, offering variety in the holes.
- Multiple tee locations.
- Potential to be much more.

This course makes great use of the available elevation! It is easily one of the most exhausting courses to climb at times, which I enjoy for the workout. Previous reviewers were correct about the baskets being nice and bright. It made it fairly easy to find the basket on my first run when I couldn't easily spot it from the tee. I can tell that this course took a healthy amount of work simply to make it safe to traverse, so I applaud the locals for making it happen. There is a lot of potential for making this course more than just fun to play. I'm hoping that others will agree with a few of my cons in order to make some necessary adjustments, turning this course into a destination event.

Cons: - Foliage not well refined for skilled play.
- Some tee pads need concrete or a completely new approach.
- Some safety precautions needed on steep slopes.

While many of the holes are laid out with fair openings through the forrest canopy, I found myself disappointed on several occassions when a lucky shot was favored over skill to make it to the basket. Being from Charlotte, I know that the woods can force some difficult throws when the fairway is tight or you have to hit a corner just right. Although I end up in the trees on many of those holes, I still respect that it was due to a bad throw on my part. What I didn't enjoy from several of the tees on this course, was thinking that I needed a miracle to find a line to the basket off the tee. If there are too many low hanging branches or small trees on a hole that don't contribute to simply forcing a certain type of shot, then I consider the hole cluttered and lacking refinement. If the local club went through and trimmed up several of the holes where unnecessary foliage is in the way, then this would be a course I would suggest fellow players travel to play. Since many of the holes seemed like 90% of the work was done, leaving a very important 10% of trimming to be done, I felt like everything fell a little short of final refinement.

Some of the tees seem borderline dangerous for someone that uses the full pad. Instead of elevating a tee and building up below it, several tees are cut into the earth, giving you a dead end stop to bump your knees into. This is common at many courses for a hole or two, but the size of the pad is usually larger, allowing for run up. The ones here were short and made me very concious of not knocking any edge or tripping when I should have been focusing on my throw.

More handrails and roping are needed in some areas. It seemed like hand line was provided, at times, when it wasn't needed. Then I'd go a bit further down a hill to more treacherous areas, and there was nothing to hold on to. This is mostly a safety concern and doesn't effect the play of the course.

Other Thoughts: Overall, this course is really cool. It has several different tee locations, making it possible to feel like you're playing three different courses if you mix it up for each round. There are also several holes that could be considered signature here. I like when a course offers several looks from the tee that you remember for one reason or another. I will certainly go back to play this course again, even if it is still in need of some trimming. I have no doubt though, that the course's full potential falls short due to its tendency to favor a lucky throw over a skill shot. As I stated before, a bit of trimming around the course will really make the holes shine and feel fair at the same time, which would push me to spread the word about Wilkesboro disc. I'd like that to be a reality, so I hope to see this refinement over time.

Pros: Elevation! this course uses it very well and often and it rairly if ever feels like its overdone or an impossible shot. And with all of the elevation there has been a lot of work put in to make sure that transitions are safe and well groomed.

I dont get to say this often but I did not see much trash at all.

There was a solid mix of left right and straight shots overall and the course flowed really well. There were a few times we scratched out heads a little but for the most part it was easy for first timers to navigate.

The baskets are awesome! I have never seen those bright orange (kingpins?) baskets before.

While there were many fun and beautiful holes or greens hole 7 with the creek down the middle stands out in my mind.

I like the idea of using logs as ob lines on holes and the rule of the red tee being a drop zone all the time made the course play tough if you got in trouble.

For the most part the natural pads were not to bad(see cons)

I felt like the teesigns were well located so thatpeople playing any tee could see them without much issue and the nice scorecards provided was definatly a plus.

Cons: Some of the Natural pads were boxedin which always irritates me because you cannot safely follow through. there were only a few however.

even though the locals have done a hell of a job making sliping and tripping issues a minimum it can still be an issue. Be careful.

Smelled a little near the sewer.

there were very few benches or trashcans.

Other Thoughts: Overall this is a great course for a small community and is well worth a road trip to play. I really enjoyed playing this course and plan on going back in the near future. Kudos to the locals who have put in the time and hard work to build a great course!